CourseCast of the Week

Episode 107, 06/028/2009

Title/Description: Jackson’s Death Impacts Internet, Jobs Back to Selling iPhones, News Briefs

Welcome to Course Technology's CourseCast of the week, Episode 107, recorded June 28th, 2009. This is Ken Baldauf bringing you this week's technology news and information. This CourseCast is brought to you by Course Technology. Check out www.cengage.com/coursetechnology for innovative textbooks and creative electronic learning solutions.

Visit the CourseCasts Website at CourseCasts.course.com where you will find links to the full stories covered in this CourseCast, related discussion questions for use in your technology courses, and the CourseCast Archives.

And now the news.

Story 1: Internet Overwhelmed by Jackson's Death

The news of Michael Jackson's death last week sent millions of fans to the Internet to look for details and share their feelings. Between 6 and 8 pm Thursday Eastern Time, popular News Web sites including ABC, CBS, the LA Times, and CNN were overwhelmed and unable to service 90 percent of requests. Social networks including Facebook and Twitter were also overwhelmed as fans posted and tweeted their thoughts, memories, and condolences. The fifty year old King of Pop was preparing for a come back tour in England when he suffered a cardiac arrest in his home. An investigation into the cause of death has yet to reveal any clues. Hackers are taking advantage of the public's interest by spreading spam and viruses with messages related to the death.

• Internet groans under weight of Michael Jackson traffic [Ars Technica]
• Update: News sites faltered in traffic spikes after Jackson's death [Computerworld]
• Michael Jackson's death sparks Internet crush [Computerworld]
• Michael Jackson spam spreads, malware attacks likely [Computerworld]
• King of Pop, Michael Jackson, Dead at 50 [Examiner.com]

Story 2: Jobs is Back Selling iPhones

Apple has announced that it sold a million iPhone 3G S smartphones in the first three days after its release. Interestingly the announcement came from Steve Jobs himself, who took a leave of absence from Apple in January citing health reasons. The Wall Street journal reported this week that Jobs had a liver transplant in April; a fact that Jobs and Apple have kept secret. Apple investors are complaining about the secrecy surrounding Steve Jobs health. They argue that his strong influence on Apple's future as a company should require full disclosure about his state of health.

• Apple claims 1M iPhone 3G S smartphones sold first weekend [Computerworld]
• Jobs' Return to Apple Is Path Strewn With Controversy [E-commerce Times]

And that brings us to news briefs

• Chip maker, Intel, and cell phone giant, Nokia are teaming up to develop new mobile computing devices. The companies plan to define a new mobile platform based on the open-source Linux operating system. Intel provides the chips that power the iPhone and many of today's popular handsets. The new Intel/Nokia partnership may have sprouted from Apples rumored plans to manufacture its own processors.
  Nokia, Intel to team on mobile architectures [Computerworld]
• Defense Secretary Robert Gates has signed off on the creation of a new military command designed to protect Department of Defense computer networks from cyber attacks. Cyber Command, or Cybercom for short, is part of a broader effort by the Whitehouse to bolster cybersecurity capabilities across the nation’s critical network infrastructure.
  Defense Secretary Gates approves creation of U.S. Cyber Command [Computerworld]
• Ever get the feeling that the pace of life is accelerating due to digital technologies? Proof can be found at the New York Stock Exchange where electronic stock trading will soon be measured in nanoseconds rather than milliseconds. The 1,000x increase in speed will increase competitive advantage for traders.
  NYSE shrinks time measurement to nanoseconds [Computerworld]
• Concern has been raised over the aging satellites that make up the US GPS system. The federal government will invest $6 million over the next five years to upgrade the system so that motorists, the military, and others that depend on it can be assured of uninterrupted high-quality service. Boeing has begun assembling new GPS satellites and says that it is on schedule to upgrade the system prior to the inevitable degradation of service.
  Boeing: Urgent GPS satellite launches on schedule [Computerworld]

That's it for this week's CourseCasts. Email me with your comments and suggestions for the show at CourseCasts@gmail.com. Let me know how you use CourseCasts in your classes and I'll give you and your school a shout out on my next CourseCast. Until next time have a great week and be sure to take advantage of the Power -- of Technology!